Socialism: “He Ain’t Heavy” States: “My Brother’s Keeper” States

“He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.”

– Roe Fulkerson

“And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Genesis 4

I am a secular atheist, however I have read the Old and New Testaments completely.

Genesis 4

¹And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

²And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

³And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.

⁴And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

⁵But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

⁶And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

⁷If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

⁸And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

⁹And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

¹⁰And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

¹¹And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

¹²When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

¹³And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.

¹⁴Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

¹⁵And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

¹⁶And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

¹⁷And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

¹⁸And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.

¹⁹And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

²⁰And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.

²¹And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.

²²And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.

²³And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.

²⁴If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

²⁵And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.

²⁶And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

In 1924, the first editor of Kiwanis Magazine, Roe Fulkerson, published a column carrying the title “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”. Dated September 1924, the article speaks of Fulkerson’s inspiring encounter with “a spindly and physically weak lad” carrying a baby and “staggering towards a neighboring park”.

” ‘Pretty big load for such a small kid’ I said as I met him. ‘Why, mister,’ he smiled, ‘He ain’t heavy; he’s my brother.’ “

Rufus Wainwright – He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother Lyrics

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows when
But I’m strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.

So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We’ll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me

If I’m laden at all
I’m laden with sadness
That everyone’s heart
Isn’t filled with the gladness
Of love for one another.

It’s a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we’re on the way to there
Why not share
And the load
Doesn’t weigh me down at all
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.

He’s my brother
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.

I had a very good discussion with a friend on Facebook.  He told me that the American objection to socialism and a social safety net was the term “Nanny State”.  My response to him–and it came immediately–was, “The correct term is ‘My Brother’s Keeper State'”.

Suddenly, it became obvious to me that by refusing to adopt socialism as national policy USAmericans were as a country bearing “the mark of Cain” in the global community and among other first world nations.

Republicans hate maternalistic government.  Democrats hate paternalistic government.  It is time for fraternalistic government.

I urge all USAmericans to adopt socialist policies as their brother’s and sister’s keepers.

Adopt universal healthcare, universal education and universal employment insurance.

No American is too heavy for another American.

No one on Earth is too heavy for anyone else on Earth.